


somebody hurt you, but you're here by my side

by agentmmayy



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Missing Scene, Post 7x06
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:47:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25091098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentmmayy/pseuds/agentmmayy
Summary: Daniel doesn't leave Daisy's side, even when she's out of the healing chamber.
Relationships: Daniel Sousa & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa
Comments: 53
Kudos: 487





	somebody hurt you, but you're here by my side

**Author's Note:**

> yes i'm shipping these two and you can't stop me. huge HUGE thank you to the best beta and human in general [marvelthismarvelthat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvelthismarvelthat/pseuds/marvelthismarvelthat) for beta-ing <3 i owe her my life. title is from 'i know a place' by MUNA which is *such* a daisy/sousa song.

Waking up was hard. 

When she opened her eyes, it was to Jemma’s face peering over the arched ceiling of the healing chamber. For a heart-stopping second, Daisy thought she was back in that old barn. The bright fluorescent lights in the Zephyr were too similar to the surgical lights above the cold, creaky metal operating table Malick had her strapped to. Then another face joined Jemma’s. May. The incessant beeping of the machine’s vitals displays slowed. Tears sprung to Daisy’s eyes as she mustered a wobbly smile that May responded with in turn. She was home.

Moving hurt. 

They helped her out of the chamber only for Daisy to be deposited onto the gurney in the medical bay a few feet away. Then came one of Jemma’s infamous invasive physicals though it involved fewer tests and more scanning than usual. She’d done most of the patching up while Daisy was unconscious. Then, the healing chamber did the rest. After a few more minutes of poking and prodding, Jemma stepped away, attention on the pad in her hands. Sousa lingered, though he put himself far enough away as to not eavesdrop. May remained by Daisy’s bedside and quietly explained what happened while she and Sousa were with Malick. Daisy wasn’t sure what hurt more: hearing about Coulson’s death or hearing May tell her about it, voice devoid of emotion. She reassured her he’d come back, though, and Daisy believed her. He always did. 

“Well.” Jemma re-appeared. “Everything looks fine. You’ll still feel a bit achy, I’m afraid. But, your powers should be back to their usual strength in a day or two. For now, you just need to rest. Doctor’s orders.”

Daisy groaned as she sat up. Even that slight movement sent rivulets of pain throughout her body. She just wanted to curl up in bed until it all stopped. “Rest sounds great.”

May carefully helped Daisy off the gurney with a hand on her upper arm. “Let’s get you to your bunk.”

The tinny sound of the Zephyr’s speakers turning on interrupted them before Enoch’s voice echoed around the medbay. “ _ Agent May, your presence is required in the cockpit _ .” There was a faint beeping on the other end of the speaker and what sounded like Elena’s muffled cursing. “ _ Urgently _ .”

May looked torn beneath the irritation. Daisy reached up and squeezed her hand, ignoring the urge to grip it and beg for her to stay. "I’m fine,” she said instead and forced herself to smile. “You go."

Still, she made no move to leave, gaze pinned to where Daisy’s hand held hers. Daisy watched as May’s expression shifted, slipping from her poised mask into devastation and anguish. Enoch’s voice came through the speaker again, this time more insistent. “ _ Agent May- _ ”

Then, a warm hand cupped Daisy’s elbow. Sousa shifted his weight to support hers and Daisy leaned into him, her fingers slackening against May’s. “I’ve got her.”

May withdrew with a shaky inhale and blinked as if trying to clear her head or the thin sheen of tears the bright lights caught. She gave a curt nod before quickly leaving the medbay. Daisy didn’t watch her go. Instead, she looked at the hand on her arm before looking up at Daniel who seemed abashed, yet determined and willing to help. She nodded and Daniel wrapped an arm around her waist. Daisy sank against him but hissed when his hand pressed up against a tender area. He adjusted his hold on her, murmuring an apology. 

It was then she noticed Jemma watching them, her countenance speaking volumes about how worried she was. “Ring me if there’s anything you need or if the pain gets worse, Daisy.”

“Got it,” Daisy agreed, a bit breathlessly. Turns out steps were still a bitch when you were in pain. “Thanks, Simmons.”

Daniel glanced over his shoulder as they left. “Thank you, Doctor.”

The walk to her bunk was excruciating. Each step made every nerve scream in pain and her head  _ throb _ . Daisy was half tempted to tell Daniel to let go and let her just lie down in the hallway. But it didn’t seem like he’d take to the idea. Instead, he supported more of her weight and offered a steady stream of encouragement that didn’t stop even when they reached her bunk door. It took a try or two for Daisy to accurately press her thumb into the sensor, but it eventually unlocked and Daniel pushed the door open. 

“Whoah!” He caught Daisy as she pitched forward, in both exhaustion and relief. It took a bit of maneuvering but Daniel kept hold of both Daisy and his cane and crossed the two steps to carefully lower her onto the bed. "There you go.” He kept a hand on her back as she stiffly crawled in. “Easy." 

Once Daisy settled, he stepped away, briefly casting his eyes to the floor. “Need anything?”

“What are you, my nurse?”

Daniel moved to the door, grasping the handle. “Hey, I wasn’t the one that son of a bitch operated on.” Though it appeared like he was ready to leave, his body was angled toward the room. Daniel hesitating before finally asking, “Are you sure you don’t need anything? I can-”

“You can stay,” Daisy blurted before she could stop herself. She just- she just felt so  _ alone _ . Coulson was dead, again. Mack and Deke were lost in time. May was… it felt like she was gone too, in a way. Half her team was just gone, and she felt more alone than she could remember. Her vision grew blurry, but not from the pain. “Please… stay.”

He looked a bit startled but mostly understanding. After all, he’d been in her same position before, only from war-related injuries and not torture. Then again, pain was pain. Turning away from the door, Daniel moved toward the only chair in the room, hooking his cane around one of the legs to pull it a little toward himself. He couldn’t hide the groan of pain sitting down elicited. 

At the sound, Daisy pushed herself up, wincing. "Are you okay?” she asked, gaze darting over him. At some point when she was unconscious, Daniel changed out of his bloodied suit and into Shield issued undershirt and pants. She couldn’t see any bandages on his exposed arms or neck but that didn’t mean he wasn’t unharmed. “Did they do anything to you?" 

"Hey,” he said. “Don't worry about me. I’m okay.”

“Sousa-”

“They didn’t do anything to me,” he reassured her. “Didn’t have the chance.”

Slowly, Daisy relaxed and sank back against the pillows. Whatever drug Malick pumped her with had worn off by now and everything was rushing back to her. Daniel’s voice, trying to keep her awake. Gentle hands stroking through her hair. Light taps on her head and back. Kind eyes trying to meet hers. Those same eyes, wide and scared like hers were, pleading with her not to lose consciousness. Those eyes were the last thing she saw before slipping away. The memory of his kindness had all her pain threatening to break out of her in either crying or screaming, but she eventually settled with a choked "What happened?" 

Daniel’s face pinched with renewed concern, but he didn’t push and began talking. “That piece of glass you snuck came in handy. One of his guys came for me, unlocked my cuffs. I got the drop on him, got the keys, unlocked you. Then the whole place started shaking. I thought it was you, but it wasn’t.”

So Malick had been successful. Daisy’s stomach turned under the feeling of violation that trickled down her spine. He took her powers from her, took a part of her heritage, took a part of  _ her _ . “Malick.”

Daniel nodded. "He came in. I guess whatever powers you have, he succeeded in transferring them to himself, but I think he couldn’t control it. The place caved in above him and I got you out." 

"How?" 

"I, uh.” At this, Daniel avoided her gaze. A blush appeared high on his cheekbones. “Carried you." 

A beat. "You carried me," Daisy repeated flatly. Her eyes briefly darted to his leg with the prosthesis. He carried her out of a collapsing building, drugged,  _ and  _ without his cane? 

At her gaze, Daniel grew defensive and shifted, placing his cane in front of him to prop his hands on. His voice was tight. "Believe it or not, I'm still pretty good with a bum leg." 

"That's not what I-" Daisy paused, biting down on her tongue. She hadn’t meant to make him feel less than. "Thank you." 

Really, she was more thankful than she could put into words, or even begin to comprehend. Not being alone there… it hadn’t taken away the terror, but it gave her something to hold onto while Malick was draining her of everything- the thought of Sousa being held in the other room. It was grounding to know he was out there, in a way that almost confused her. 

Daisy shuddered to think what it would’ve been like if he hadn’t been there. She would’ve been alone and terrified. She wouldn’t have made it out alive, not in the state Malick had left her in. Her story would’ve ended the same as her mother’s- torn away from her family, alone, violated, and terrified.

She should count herself lucky that it was only her soul that was left in pieces, rather than her body. 

So yes, she was thankful he’d been there. Thankful he’d risked his life for her, a person he’d known for a mere few days. 

Daisy cleared her throat and nodded to the cane. "That's new."

Daniel glanced down at it and sighed, "Yeah, mine got left behind when they nabbed us. Suit’s gone though." 

“Now we can finally get you into some year-appropriate clothing.”

He laughed. “There’s no way in hell you’re getting me into any of those elephant pants.”

“Well, we’re in the eighties so I was thinking something more like a tracksuit or double denim.”

“Should have gotten off this plane when I had the chance.” The quip was delivered lightly and with an emptiness that told Daisy, he wasn’t going anywhere. Relief swept through her, quickly followed by gratitude. She wouldn’t be alone anymore. 

“When we were in there,” Daniel began, “he called you something.”

She nodded. “Inhuman.”

“What is it?” he asked, skirting the edge of demanding. The hand not on his cane gestured wildly. “What- what’s an inhuman? Are you inhuman?”

She’d rather avoid any more questions and sleep, but Daisy supposed she owed him that much. She also knew that the longer Daniel’s questions went unanswered, the more flighty, and confrontational, he became. So, she took a deep breath and started talking. 

“An inhuman is a person with Kree DNA.” Before Daniel could ask, Daisy answered. “The Kree are aliens that came to earth during a war millions of years ago and experimented on humans, genetically modifying them. Yeah,” she said at his stunned expression. “Aliens. Get used to it.”

“Inhuman powers could once only be activated with a terrigen crystal,” Daisy continued. “When it’s cracked open, the gas inside creates a cocoon that forms over you and activates the inhuman genes. When you break out, you have powers, though no two people have the same power at one time.” Only, Malick did now and Daisy feared what that could mean for the course of events, even in whatever timeline they were in. Him stealing her powers created an imbalance. 

“You said ‘could once’?” Daniel asked. “Are there different ways? Are there a lot of inhumans in your time?”

“I used a diviner, it’s a- whole story. But yeah, there are a lot, though still very few. A lot of us are killed because of our powers. Hydra was one of the first to learn about us.” Daisy swallowed. “Whitehall experimented on my mother for years”

At this, Daniel glanced at her. “Jiaying?”

“Yeah.” She frowned. “How’d you-?”

“When they brought you back, you said it happened before,” he told her, face grim. “Kept saying her name.”

Knowing she said her mother’s name in the midst of delirium somehow hurt worse than any scalpel. Being ruthlessly experimented on and having her power continuously stripped marked the start of Jiaying’s hatred for humanity, but Daisy resolved that it wouldn’t be hers. 

“My mother’s power was immortality.” Daisy skirted around the whole  _ she had to kill people to sustain herself  _ part of it.  _ She tried to kill me. _ “She was almost a hundred years old when I met her, but didn’t even look forty. Whitehall took her powers just like Malick did with mine. He tore her apart.”  _ Left her in pieces  _ Cal’s voice hissed in her mind. 

“Malick said he felt his bones cracking.” Daniel’s hands fidgeted on his cane, brow creasing with concern. “Does that happen to you?”

“Not anymore,” Daisy muttered, unconsciously rubbing her wrists, mind drifting to the first time she’d discovered the side effects of her powers. On a football field, watching her chosen family take down the powered people that had been recruited by her father; afraid that somehow, someway, she’d be next.

“He brought the whole building down. I don’t think he even meant to do it.”

“I was the same way when I first got my powers.” She let out a quiet, humorless laugh. “Coulson had to replace the light bulbs in the base almost every week for a while.”

An awkward, somber silence fell over them at the mention of Coulson.

“I’m sorry,” Daniel began. The sincerity in his voice made Daisy’s throat tight. “About Agent Coulson.” 

She nodded. Plucked at the blanket. "Me too.”

"He was your dad, wasn't he?" 

Daisy didn’t even try to correct him. Couldn’t. "Yeah, he was." 

"He was a good man." 

Tears came to Daisy’s eyes and spilled over onto her cheeks, sudden and unbidden though she’d been holding them back since she left the healing chamber, since May told her why Coulson wasn’t there waiting. No matter how many times she lost Coulson, it never became easier. In fact, it got harder. And each time he came back, she was foolish enough to believe he’d stay. It was the knowledge that Daniel was still there that prevented her from breaking down into a sobbing mess. He’d already seen her at her lowest low, but this was something she wasn’t ready to share yet. 

Daisy swiped at her cheeks then tentatively reached out a hand, not quite sure what she was reaching out for. Her breath caught in her throat for the barest of seconds as she became unsure if she’d crossed a line. Daisy half waited for the heartbreak of the gesture not being reciprocated, but Daniel took her hand carefully, without hesitation, mindful of her injured palms still wrapped in gauze. Her right palm, the one she hid the glass in, now bore no more than a thick, pink line of scar tissue and though that would fade within the next few hours, it was still tender. 

Daniel startled when Daisy gave a gentle tug on his hand. 

"Can I-?” She began but bit her lip, worrying it before hesitantly telling him, “I remember the way we sat in there."

It was nothing but comforting. The warmth of Daniel’s lap was a stark and welcome contrast to the cold, sterile table beneath her moments prior and the instruments that cut into her skin. Even delirious, Daisy innately recognized the gentle touch of another human being and she  _ yearned  _ for that feeling of comfort again. How long had it been since someone last held her? Touched her without having ulterior motives? Maybe it was strange to want that closeness, to associate it with safety rather than fear. 

He remembered too. Daniel could almost feel his fingertips slipping across sweat-soaked skin as he dragged Daisy across the floor with bound hands. Her head, hot, heavy, and wet with blood on his thigh. Her pulse was so fast, for a moment he thought he’d lose her right there. That he’d never get her home. But they were home, and he had her in front of him, beseeching. Some part of him whispered that it was inappropriate. This wasn’t just two agents comforting each other after an event in the field, this was something different. Something… more. 

His silence stretched a little too long. Daisy’s face fell, shrouded with embarrassment. "I'm sorry-” she stammered, dropping her gaze to the blanket across her lap. Her fingers plucked at the loose threads, visibly trembling. “That was inappropriate.”

Daniel decided he didn’t like watching her be unsure of herself. He pushed himself off the chair, swallowing a grunt of pain. "Scoot on over." 

For a second, Daisy blinked at him in disbelief before gingerly shifting to accommodate him. He hovered, waiting until she stilled to sit on the edge of the bed. Daniel propped his cane on the side table before breathing in and swinging his leg up, moving closer to Daisy once he was stable. He took a small pillow when she offered it, shoving it under his leg so it wouldn’t ache. They settled almost exactly as they had been in the barn, Daniel leaning up against the headboard with Daisy’s head in his lap and his legs splayed out, though there wasn’t enough room for her to curl up sideways. That didn’t seem to bother her, however, because Daisy laid her cheek against his thigh with a content hum. 

Daniel sighed, trying to catch his breath. "There we go." His hand pressed briefly against Daisy’s back. “You comfortable?”

She nodded. He couldn't help the way his fingers drifted to Daisy's neck, searching out her pulse beneath his fingertips. She only sighed and pressed her cheek further onto his thigh. It was steady and strong, unlike the rabbit-fast rhythm he first felt. Daisy’s hair tickled the tips of his fingers. Daniel hesitated, before smoothing an open and careful palm across her hair, this time without the hindrance of handcuffs. 

Having someone there, holding her, comforting her, made her body feel immediately heavy like sleep was just down a precipice just a few steps away; but Daisy didn’t allow her eyes to close. What if when she opened them again it would be to that straw-covered stone flooring? Was she even out of there? Panic settled in her chest, but before it could grow, another pass of Daniel’s hand over her hair calmed it. Daisy’s fingers uncurled from where her nails bit into her smarting palms. If this was a drugged-up delusion, and they were really still in that barn, Daniel would get her back home. 

"You told me the story,” Daisy said after a little while. “About your experience in the field hospital." 

Daniel paused, glancing down at her. "You remember that?" 

"Barely. I was fading in and out, but I could hear your voice." She had clung onto it, fingers curled around the piece of glass hidden in her palm, grasping onto the glass like it was an embodiment of his soothing baritone. 

"I had to keep you awake,” he said. “That was the only way I knew how." 

"Can you tell me it again?” she asked softly. “This time I promise I’ll remember." 

"Yeah.” He nodded and resumed stroking her hair. “Yeah." 

Daisy shifted, moving into a position that didn’t make her ribs ache. She tucked a hand against her chest and placed the other on Daniel’s thigh, fingers brushing her cheeks. A second passed before Daniel placed the hand he didn’t have on her head next to hers, inching it forward until their fingertips barely touched. It was feather-light but enough to keep her anchored. Daisy closed her eyes, feeling overwhelmingly safe and ready to let his voice wash over and the tide to take her away. 

Daniel cleared his throat before beginning, voice stronger this time around. “It was foggy…”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! feel free to prompt me on tumblr where i am also agentmmayy :)


End file.
